Mountain and River Festival

Chapter 126 A Close Call (Seeking Monthly Tickets)
In fact, Sheng Yuanyao did not intend to fish.

Lu Xingzhou's performance in several matters in Dongjiang, Xiazhou was truly amazing, which made Sheng Yuanyao blindly trust Lu Xingzhou's judgment.

Since Lu Xingzhou has repeatedly emphasized that if she wants to hunt Ye Wufeng, she must find him to join her and not act rashly, Sheng Yuanyao will not launch this plan before contacting Lu Xingzhou.

Today's park visit was a genuine park visit, but at its core, it was actually a blind date.

The Huanhua Sword Sect is a prestigious and righteous sect, and many of its graduates serve in the Demon Suppression Division. Sheng Qingfeng dislikes marriage alliances with top-tier families to avoid excessive political entanglements, making direct descendants of prestigious sects with close ties to the Demon Suppression Division an excellent choice.

The Demon Suppression Division ultimately had more dealings with the martial arts world.

Chu Qingchen is a direct disciple of the Huanhua Sword Sect, ranked seventh among the rising stars, and is also of suitable age. From any perspective, she would be a rather suitable marriage partner.

At first, Sheng Yuanyao hadn't thought about these things. When she heard that Pei Yu's guest was Chu Qingchen, she was actually quite pleased. After all, they were all young people, and she was very interested in making friends with young talents. Chu Qingchen was seventh on the rookie list, wasn't he worth getting to know?

If she had known earlier that her father had designs on a marriage alliance, she might have gone after Chu Qingchen that day. What's there to be happy about?

However, there was no need to cause trouble. After Huo Jin's interference that day, Lu Xingzhou shone brightly, and Sheng Yuanyao had already lost interest in befriending Chu Qingchen. During the meal, she didn't even pay attention to what Chu Qingchen looked like; her attention was entirely on Lu Xingzhou.

He was somewhat disheartened... Compared to his peers and Lu Xingzhou, it seemed that apart from martial arts prowess, there was really nothing else interesting about him. Even in terms of martial arts, Lu Xingzhou was catching up rapidly. When he met Lu Xingzhou, Lu Xingzhou was only a seventh-rank martial artist, but now, after only three or four months, he had already reached the upper sixth rank. And that wasn't all; Lu Xingzhou could defeat Huo Jin, a fifth-rank martial artist, in one move.

Sitting at the same table as Lu Xingzhou, it's really hard to focus your attention on anyone at another table.

Because she wanted to deal with Ye Wufeng, Sheng Yuanyao went to Chu Qingchen after dinner to discuss the matter, and that's how they met.

The frustrating thing is that when I got back, my parents grabbed me and asked if I had seen Chu Qingchen from the Huanhua Sword Sect since he came to the capital. Then they started pressuring me to go on blind dates and even asked Pei Yu to act as matchmaker and accompany me.

Sheng Yuanyao had been quiet for the past two days because she was arguing with her parents, and hadn't even had the mind to plan the important matter of catching Ye Wufeng. Today, she finally couldn't hold back anymore, all because of one sentence from her father: "You'll be twenty after the New Year! You're not thinking about this or that, do you really want to find Lu Xingzhou!"

Sheng Yuanyao was dumbfounded: "What does this have to do with Lu Xingzhou? We're just friends, and his lover is Shen..."

He abruptly stopped halfway through his sentence, Sheng Qingfeng said through gritted teeth, "You must keep your mouth shut about his relationship with the princess, and don't let anything slip."

"understood……"

"Since you know that his relationship with the princess is unusual, what else do you want to do?"

"I told you we're not in that kind of relationship! What are you talking about?!"

"Prove it to us."

Sheng Yuanyao: “…”

Forget it.

So I had no choice but to reluctantly go out and deal with the blind date, then go back and tell my parents it wasn't a good match and that would be the end of it.

Concerned about Ye Wufeng's situation, as Lu Xingzhou had mentioned, Sheng Yuanyao was accompanied by an old servant for protection. Pei Yu and his entourage were no pushovers either, and along with Chu Qingchen himself, there was a large group of young masters and ladies who had come to stroll through the garden. With such a lineup, she felt confident that no one would find an opening, so Sheng Yuanyao relaxed and decided to truly enjoy the garden and relax.

In February, the spring breeze blows, orioles fly and grasses grow, the air is fresh after the rain, the garden is full of colorful flowers, and the lake is as smooth as a mirror. The whole environment is indeed very comfortable.

Sheng Yuanyao stood by the lake, feeling the gentle breeze on the water, briefly relaxing her troubled mind.

"Miss Sheng, do you know the name of this lake?" Chu Qingchen's voice came from beside her.

This typical attempt to flirt made Sheng Yuanyao a little annoyed. She glanced at Pei Yu and the other young masters and ladies who claimed to be boating on the lake together, but they all kept their distance, leaving her alone to enjoy some time alone.

Everyone knew what this meant, and Sheng Yuanyao was even more annoyed. "You, Pei Yu, have no sense of loyalty at all!"

But they forgot that Pei Yu and Chu Qingchen were actually friends, and their loyalty was naturally directed towards Chu Qingchen.

But this also means that Chu Qingchen really has his eye on Sheng Yuanyao, which is why he asked his brother for this favor.

It's perfectly normal for her to be interested in Sheng Yuanyao. Gua Mei is truly blessed with many good qualities: she has a straightforward personality, a strong sense of responsibility, a good family background, and is beautiful.

Sheng Yuanyao herself was oblivious to this, always feeling that these people trying to curry favor were like flies, far less comfortable and pleasant than being with Lu Xingzhou. So she coldly replied, "The lake is called Yaochi. It's just a legend, nothing to mention."

Chu Qingchen didn't mind her coldness. In any case, the fact that the beauty was willing to reply was a good start, so he was invigorated and continued to ask, "Then this garden is called Qingyao. Yao is the lake, but what does Qing mean?"

Sheng Yuanyao, still half asleep, casually pointed and said, "That little hill over there is called Qingdai Mountain."

The tone was so dismissive, it was as if they wanted to tell me to get lost and stop bothering me while I was looking at the lake.

But the more aloof and cold the rejection, the more irresistible the man's desire becomes. Chu Qingchen, who initially only felt a slight liking for him, was now almost falling deeply in love. After racking her brains for a long time, she cautiously smiled and said, "Your name contains the character 'Yao,' and mine also contains the character 'Qing.' I feel that this garden and we have some kind of connection." Sheng Yuanyao scoffed, "This 'Qing' is not the same as that 'Qing.' Don't try to play the victim."

Chu Qingchen was a little embarrassed and was about to say something when Sheng Yuanyao interrupted, "Think about something serious. You think you can challenge for the top rookie?"

Chu Qingchen said proudly, "If Ye Wufeng were in front of you, Miss Sheng would know the outcome."

Sheng Yuanyao was really annoyed. She turned around and saw that Pei Yu and the others had already gone far away, so she wanted to catch up with the main group to avoid embarrassment.

Just as he turned around, the lake water rippled softly, and a slender sword suddenly emerged from the water, like a venomous snake flicking its tongue.

One was preoccupied with his own anxieties, the other with his pursuit of women, and for a moment they both forgot about Ye Wufeng. By the time a warning bell rang in their minds, the sword was already at their feet.

Chu Qingchen was shocked. Her first reaction was to distance herself from Sheng Yuanyao in order to observe the sword's movements. After all, the sword strike was sudden and came from behind, making it difficult for either of them to determine the other's sword path. Creating distance immediately was an instinctive choice.

But to anyone else, his on-the-spot handling of the situation showed cowardice; he didn't even have the courage to stand behind the beauty, yet he boasted, "If Ye Wufeng were in front..."

A mocking laugh came from within the mist: "That's it?"

That sword was definitely not aimed at Chu Qingchen, but at Sheng Yuanyao!
In the blink of an eye, the old servant who had been following Sheng Yuanyao not far away drew his sword like lightning, passing Sheng Yuanyao and thrusting it into the sword in the water.

However, the two sides were at different distances. The sword had already been drawn from the water before the old servant moved, which was obviously too late. Sheng Yuanyao herself needed to dodge the first attack!
Sheng Yuanyao felt as if she had fallen into an ice cellar.

Contrary to Lu Xingzhou's fears, Ye Wufeng hadn't broken through to the third rank, but he was definitely just one step away, incredibly close. With her fifth-rank strength, she simply couldn't dodge that sword strike!

If Chu Qingchen hadn't created distance but had instead decisively counterattacked, this situation could have been resolved... Unfortunately, Chu Qingchen made the wrong first choice.

Sheng Yuanyao mustered all her strength to fly a step to the side, but the sword followed her like a shadow and easily pierced her heart.

"Miss Sheng!" Pei Yu and the others rushed over in alarm, but they were all a beat too late. They watched helplessly as the sword struck Sheng Yuanyao, whose eyes widened in shock.

Time and space seemed to freeze at this moment.

Then, as if in slow motion, people watched in disbelief as the sword, which had clearly pierced through, instead grazed Sheng Yuanyao's back, leaving a trail of blood.

A wheelchair shot out from the side like a cannonball, grabbed Sheng Yuanyao as it passed by, and continued on its way.

The ashes from the burning talisman hadn't even fallen yet.

Lu Xingzhou... from a great distance, he used a Mirror Light Talisman to directly target Sheng Yuanyao's back, and at the same time, the wheelchair shot out, taking her away.

At the same time, Anuo's fist was already slamming towards Ye Wufeng's side, and the old servant of the Sheng family's sword had already pierced the tip of Ye Wufeng's sword. Chu Qingchen reacted and thrust back with his sword. Pei Yu and the others surrounded them from all sides, and all kinds of attacks came crashing down.

Everything happened in the blink of an eye; Ye Wufeng had already re-entered the water and disappeared.

All the power blasted onto the water, but it all missed. Ye Wufeng's voice came from the other side of the lake, laughing loudly as he left: "Noble ladies of the capital, young masters of powerful families, direct descendants of sword sects... hahahaha... all of them are no match for a good-for-nothing cripple."

"Thump!" Lu Xingzhou's wheelchair crashed to the ground, the powerful inertia throwing him out of the way. He rolled several times on the lawn, still holding Sheng Yuanyao, before finally coming to a stop.

The bloodstains on Sheng Yuanyao's back stained the grass bright red, and the pain from hitting the ground felt like her body was falling apart. But at this moment, her beautiful eyes were fixed on Lu Xingzhou's face, which was pressing down on her, as if she were in a dream.

She never imagined that Lu Xingzhou would descend like a god and save her at the critical moment.

No matter how fast a talisman is compared to magic, or how remotely effective it can be, it still takes a certain amount of time for it to take effect.

Judging from the timing, Lu Xingzhou was the first to arrive at the scene. Before anything had even happened, upon seeing Sheng Yuanyao, he immediately activated the Mirror Light Talisman, allowing it to work in time. Then, the wheelchair was propelled wildly, almost out of control, allowing him to snatch her away at the last second.

This level of awareness could surpass ten Chu Qingchens.

Lu Xingzhou was breathing heavily, his eyes filled with anger: "I told you to be careful! Did you just ignore me? Who told you to fish like this, and deliberately scatter Pei Yu and the others? Are you tired of living?"

Sheng Yuanyao said weakly, "It's a misunderstanding, I wasn't fishing..."

"I'm not fishing, I mean you went out for a stroll knowing there were assassins watching you, and ended up getting assassinated? Was that pig you were handing out at the city gate the other day?!"

Sheng Yuanyao's face burned, and she was too ashamed to care about the pain in her back. After a long while, she said, "Get off me first, my back hurts."

Lu Xingzhou turned his head and saw the old servant of the Sheng family, Pei Yu, Chu Qingchen, A Nuo... a group of people surrounding him, looking down at him with different expressions, as if to say, "You're awake?"

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

P.S.: Please vote for me! Please vote for me!
(End of this chapter)